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Instagram Grids– Hot or Not?

Grids. Banners. Cubes. Whatever you call them. More and more companies and individuals have been jumping onto this trend since the Summer of 2015. The owners of these instagram accounts segment one photo into typically 3, 6, 9, 12+, square blocks and post them in a progressive order, typically by using some apps that make it pretty simple– like Giant Square or Banner Pic. The result is a pretty interesting Instagram profile that can break down the feed into sections or just displays the photo in a unique way. Instagram has been changing a whole lot, and while this isn’t a native format, there have been mixed feedback and application of these grids.

Social Media businesses like Hootsuite, have promoting this kind of Instagram behavior as a marketing tool to help people get likes and to promote business when done well. When you visit @hootsuiteshowcase, Hootsuite’s showcase profile that uses this grid method pretty extensively to showcase companies and artists, you immediately are captivated by the text banners they created as you scroll through the images.

Now this looks pretty dang sweet. I’m not going to lie at all about that. Moving down their feed revealed a pretty awesome way of viewing this profile. I especially like this feed because they highlight some awesome photographers in sections of their work. But even the social media company can’t seem to get it right. Imagine coming across this in your feed:

I doubt that I’m the lone human being in the world that has hated scrolling through an incredulous amount of sequential and seemingly strange segments of photographs posted by a user at any given time. This is just speculation, but could this be one of the reasons why @hootsuiteshowcases has only a very tiny fraction of followers compared to their main account? Just sayin’.

Now, lets show you a company that has taken this idea and made it work to the max.

Reynolds Wrap – @Reynoldskitchens. A quick scroll through through their feed would make you want to poach their social media manager for your own feed. Each image is its own dish, with some even showing the 10 second clip on how to make that dish. Each image contains a dish, and collectively, they made it so that the table that the dish is on, extends through the whole feed. It is super creative and super applicable for the platform. Getting a few of those pictures of food that is composed well isn’t going to turn someone off from their feed, unlike 27 pictures of people turned sideways that no one really cares about. They started this 50 weeks ago the beginning of June, which is really impressive! That’s one really long table!

I’ve seen a few photographers do this on their page, with mixed results.

Personally, if I came across anything like that Heineken series, that account would be unfollowed instantly, but I can stare at food all day long. Way to go Reynolds. Way to go.

So, what do you think about the grids?

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Mykii is an energetic and kind soul that loves sharing his passion for technology and photography! Outfitted with over 15 years of IT experience and over 10 years in the portrait photography industry, he adds his personal perspective on trending technology, reviews, and updates. He also loves motorcycling, Jeeping and tinkering with tech. He also is a ViewSonic Color Pro.

Seriously! That would be slightly annoying and painful for those account holders!

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Levi Sim

3 years ago

I think they’re pretty rad. Just check out Land Rover’s Solitude in Sawtooth continuous grid.

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Jen

2 years ago

I’m trying to adapt the grid banner approach to my business page, but anytime I want to add just one photo, the whole thing is messed up. Once you commit, you have to add in series of three. So frustrating!

It’s so true! I’ve also heard rumors of Instagram making some changes to the amount of columns that will be displayed in the future! That’ll be even crazier!

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Reply

Levi Sim

3 years ago

I think they’re pretty rad. Just check out Land Rover’s Solitude in Sawtooth continuous grid.

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Reply

Jen

2 years ago

I’m trying to adapt the grid banner approach to my business page, but anytime I want to add just one photo, the whole thing is messed up. Once you commit, you have to add in series of three. So frustrating!

Seriously! That would be slightly annoying and painful for those account holders!

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Reply

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